Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Books in English Kids Sewing Patterns

Book Review – Sew Chic Kids (Now in English)

August 21, 2013

As promised, the book review for Happy Homemade : Sew Chic Kids!

Just like the Sew Chic book, there are 20 projects to make. Some are for girls, some for boys, and some can be made for both boys and girls. There is also a comprehensive section for sewing beginners, from tools to sewing machine tips, to the use of paper patterns and fabrics. Let’s have a look!


Most of the dresses have simple silhouettes, but added design details around the yoke and sleeves. Great for fans of the simple Japanese style. 🙂

I love this look. It’s really a grown up style – the wide-leg linen pants. But so adorable on a little girl. Can be made for little boys too!

I know lots of you have little boys that you would like to sew clothes for. So far of all the English translated Japanese Sewing Books, boys clothing have been left out. This is the first book I have seen that includes some boy patterns. Even though I don’t have a little boy of my own, I think these are really  versatile patterns to have.

Shorts in different styles and lengths. Notice there are pockets too? Some of the shorts patterns feature a fake fly but with gathered elastic at the waist. So  it’s easy and comfortable to wear but looks like a proper smart pair of shorts/pants!

There are also two shirt patterns. A stand up collar shirt.

And a proper collared shirt.

A pull-over parka pattern that you can use with different types of fabric for different seasons. Some variations I can think of – You can lengthen the sleeves, make it with knit for easy wearing, or even make it with fleece for winter. A truly useful pattern to have in your library.

Being from the same publisher, the book is very similar to the other book – Sew Chic, because it includes the same How-to-make sewing techniques and tips . They used the same excerpt from Sewing Recipe : Mastering Sewing Techniques are You Go by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

The main pattern how-to-make looks like the other book too, with one main exception. The quantities of fabric to buy for each size IS included this time, in both the materials list and cutting layout. So there is less guesswork involved.

Units are primarily in inches, and the cm equivalent in brackets.

A close up of the diagrams.

Now for the important part – the size chart. It is always better to measure your child first before deciding on the size, since the growth rate and proportions of each kid may be quite different, so the age or height indication may not be the most reliable measurement.

And just like the other book, an envelope attached to the back cover is a great place to store your patterns! 2 large sheets with a total of 4 sides.

Check out my list of other English versions of Japanese Sewing Books here!

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17 Comments

  • Reply Serena August 21, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    Might have to pre-order this one! Thank you for the review and sneak peak 🙂

  • Reply Liza August 21, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    Hi, we are hoping to ho on holiday to Singapore in a couple of months , do you know where I can buy Japanese sewing books?
    Cheers

  • Reply s0nicfreak August 23, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    I LOVE that this includes stuff for boys! I have 3 boys and 1 girl, and while there’s no shortage of things to make for the girl, boys seem to be neglected in most craft books.

  • Reply Prolific Project Starter | Sew Chic Pinafore December 10, 2013 at 7:06 am

    […] website a few weeks ago and I’ve discovered since buying it that there is more information on lovely site that reviews japanese sewing patterns. (By the way I was initially considering the adult version, but I’m not sure how the gorgeous […]

  • Reply R December 10, 2013 at 7:21 am

    What an informative site even if I didn’t find it until after buying the book. Thanks! I’ll definitely check here before considering future japanese patternnbook purchases as I canmonly see them online. (I have just made a pattern from this book http://prolificprojectstarter.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/sew-chic-pinafore/)

  • Reply Prolific Project Starter | A Very Special Dress December 19, 2013 at 7:21 am

    […] Pattern: Flared Sleeve Dress (k) from Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids. […]

  • Reply Mika February 18, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    Hi! I am a novice in sewing I would like to sew my own dress. I bought a sewing book by Yoshiko Tsukiori, A a Happy Homemade ; Sew a Chic the problem is 1) multi patterns & 2) I can’t find the pattern that I want to sew. 3) the pattern pieces are scattered over several sheets. It has 2 sided pattern for a total of 4 pattern sheets. Pls help me if you have a way to solve my problem.
    I am very excited to sew my first garment.

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books February 19, 2014 at 8:30 am

      Hi Mika, each pattern in the book is referred to by the Alphabet, so for example, A – Tunic Dress with Lace. Refer to the [LAYOUT] diagram on page 33. It shoes you that you have 3 pattern pieces to trace and cut (namely the Front, Back, Sleeve). Then you go to the pattern sheets and look for these 3 pieces. Each of the pattern sheets have a list of patterns on the front.
      A – back, sleeve are found on Pattern Sheet 1 , while A – front is found on Pattern sheet 3.
      So the most important thing is, refer to the LAYOUT diagram and you will know exactly how many pieces of patterns you need to find and trace. Happy sewing!

  • Reply Japanese Sewing Books in English » Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics March 10, 2014 at 9:44 am

    […] Read my review here […]

  • Reply Deepa November 22, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    This book is great ! If there was just one Japanese pattern book for kids I was allowed to buy ( God forbid!) , I would buy this one . All the patterns are brilliant , and the best part is, boys don’t get left out either.

  • Reply Book Review – Natural Cute Bags and Pouches | Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics August 7, 2015 at 9:19 am

    […] can think of quite a few girls sewing books, but only 1 kids book – Sew Chic Kids (for both girls and boys). But hardly any bag making books, it’s strange since there are so […]

  • Reply Do Japão  | seismaisdois April 4, 2016 at 12:38 am

    […] Na verdade já há muito que oiço dizer que os livros japoneses, sejam eles de costura ou de tricot, são os melhores, os mais bem explicados e os mais bonitos. Mas, sobretudo por achar  não iria  perceber nada, nunca me tinha iniciado neles (apesar de ter uma amiga que vive no Japão e que já se tinha oferecido para mos enviar) e tinha apenas dois livros de costura: Um piroso e mal traduzido e outro que já fiz tudo o que lá havia. Chegou então o dia. Aconselhada por algumas destas costureiras fantásticas encomendei este livro. […]

  • Reply Sew Along for Boys Stand-UP Collar Shirt – Day 1 | Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics January 6, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    […] you have a local Japanese bookstore like Kinokuniya, they should have it as well. I have posted the full book review some time ago, so you can look at the rest of the projects here if you have not purchased the book […]

  • Reply Helen June 23, 2017 at 3:22 am

    Hello
    I want basic bodice block for kid and I don’t have any idea which book should I buy pls reply me

  • Reply Saskia Bregazzi December 8, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    I’ve just stumbled across your website, and read the review thinking this would be perfect for my boy, but I got to the end and realised he’s bigger than the biggest size 🙁
    Oh well, my search continues.

  • Leave a Reply to Do Japão  | seismaisdois Cancel Reply